Favorite Stranger
by PersephonesNauticalNun
Summary: She loved Matty, but if Mini was the only one who could touch her...


**Author's Notes**

_I know, I know, I should be working on Octahedron, but this came up and bit me in the ass after watching the season five finale, and it wouldn't leave me alone, so here it is. This is an oneshot even though I could easily expand it. Why? Because I have other, more important work to get back to. And I think you'll all agree._

**Favorite Stranger**

**By Persephone's Nautical Nun**

Franky turned her lighter over in her fingers absentmindedly, trying to figure out how all of this happened. She knew it started before the almost wedding, and was even willing to bet that it had already started before the play. That one kiss, suggested by Grace, had definitely been the catalyst. It had been the one thing Mini needed to start leaking her true feelings out.

Alo's party; that's the first time she could definitively remember seeing evidence of Mini's feelings for her. She hadn't been lying to Rich when she told him she had no experience with girls, but she was smart and perceptive enough to pick up on it, anyway. When Mini had come in and asked about her "crusty boyfriend," her voice had held a peculiar kind of hesitation to it. That, coupled with how quickly she had jumped onto her evident attraction to Matty as though she wanted Franky to deny it, was enough to tell Franky that something was shifting in the taller girl.

Matty; the subject was bittersweet, to say the least. She loved him, completely, and that was that. She knew she shouldn't, having discussed the situation thoroughly with Mini. She knew that he was a burnout with no future prospects, and that she really did deserve better. She also knew that Mini was right when she said he'd fuck her up, though it probably wouldn't have been intentional. It didn't matter. Franky loved him anyway, and believed that he could show her a thing or two about living. He showed her something other than numbness.

She had tried. She had tried so hard. That's what you do when you love someone, right? She had pushed her initial fear in the woods aside, and kissed him, and resolutely pulled down his zipper. It was normal. It was what you did when you were in love. But his hands were too large, and could hold too much. And the weight of him on top of her was uncomfortable, and suffocating.

He was a good guy. He really was. He had wasted no time in getting off of her, and showed nothing but concern as she tore off through the trees. But as she lay curled in on herself, and cradled in Mini's arms, she realized that she couldn't do one of the most important aspects of loving someone.

She had gotten used to Mini's touches. When had that happened? They had started after the play; a reassuring hand on her shoulder here, or a sympathetic hand squeeze there. But it had moved beyond that, and fairly quickly. Now, it was nothing for them to walk down the halls with Mini's arm around Franky's shoulder, and Franky herself thought nothing of reaching for Mini's hand.

She had always heard that opposites attract, but she never bothered to put too much stock in it. But that seemed to be the case for Mini. Franky wasn't stupid. Beneath all the hurt and humiliation that surrounded her introduction to Roundview, she knew that the reason Mini lashed out at her was because her existence posed a challenge to who Mini was. It didn't make it right, and it certainly didn't excuse it, but Franky had learned that it wasn't actually personal. Mini had simply been faced with her antithesis; a way of life she couldn't believe possible, and had reacted accordingly.

But for Franky, attraction had never played any part in it; not at all. She was indifferent towards Mini at best, at least in this particular realm. It had actually started as something like practice to Franky. Maybe she just had to practice being touched, and letting someone know her like that. And since she had already grown accustomed to physical contact with Mini, and because Mini was more than willing, it had blossomed out of convenience.

She remembered returning, not to her home, but to Mini's after the wedding, because Mini was worried, and didn't want her to be alone. She remembered standing awkwardly in her feminine room, which seemed to scream, "Look at me, I've done everything right, and turned into the perfect teenage girl," and Franky wondered how deeply the façade really went. Mini was in the shower, and even though she told Franky to make herself at home, she felt imposing, bulky, and cumbersome. It was a strange relief when Mini finally returned with extra blankets, and started making a pallet on the floor for Franky.

It wasn't until they were wrapped in the safety of darkness that Mini approached the subject. "Are you sure you're okay?" Everyone had asked her that since she nearly fell off a cliff, but Mini's concern seemed a little more genuine, and Franky wasn't annoyed by the repetition.

Instead, she sat up and faced the bed, faintly making out the outline of Mini's body underneath the blankets. "I don't know," she said softly in the direction she knew Mini's head was. "What if I never get over it?"

"You will, but it'll take time. Don't worry, I'll be here." Mini thought Franky had been talking about the events that happened earlier that day, but she wasn't. She was talking about her reaction to them, and what that might mean for Franky's life in the long run. It didn't matter, though, because something in Mini's response gave Franky the answer she needed; the answer, and the permission.

Without a word, Franky stood up and crossed the short distance to the bed. She could feel Mini's eyes on her for a few infinite seconds before she heard the unmistakable sound of fabric rustling, and she knew Mini was holding the blanket up for her. It was a small bed, but they were small people, and she could feel her move to the wall as Franky climbed under the covers.

Mini guided the blanket up to Franky's chin before quickly removing any part of her from Franky's space. Franky could feel her eyes on her as she stared blankly at the ceiling. She didn't know how long they had laid like that before she felt Mini's tentative hand on her shoulder; fleeting at first, as though she'd been burned, before it came back to rest lightly against her skin, and Franky knew that Mini was ready to jerk it back at any sign of protest.

But she recognized it for the question that it was, and responded by turning towards Mini and curling in on herself, resting her forehead at the base of Mini's neck as the other girl wrapped her arms around her shoulders, and set her chin against Franky's head.

That's how it started, and that's how it stayed, because things with Mini were wonderfully slow. Yes, it was still just a way for Franky to try to climb her own wall, but she didn't want to have to be in a hurry to do so, and Mini didn't seem too keen to speed things along either, probably dealing with her own insecurities and confusion.

Their first real kiss hadn't happened until a few weeks later. This time, they were Franky's house, curled up together the way they always were when they spent the night together. Mini couldn't sleep; Franky could feel her muscles' refusal to relax. She brought her hand to rest on Mini's side; the first touch for Franky to initiate while in this intimate position. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," was Mini's reply, but Franky knew she was lying. "I just don't know what's going on. Sometimes I think I do, but I never really know." She was trying to get her point across without having to actually verbalize her question, and she hoped Franky could read between the lines.

Of course Franky could read between the lines, and she knew that this was it. Kissing was fine; a little awkward because of her braces, but fine. She had kissed before, and it hadn't been the kissing that made her run from Matty. She supposed she should feel bad for thinking about Matty at a time like this, but she couldn't. She also couldn't feel bad about not feeling for Mini what Mini felt for her. She just leaned in, and gave Mini what she couldn't bring herself to ask for. It was fumbled and awkward as she missed Mini's mouth, only for the blonde to gently guide their lips together. It was okay. It was kissing. It was simple, and it ended there.

Somewhere along the way, they had been given the title of couple, though they had never discussed the nature of their relationship. People pick up on things, though, and their unspoken intimacy had been understood amongst their friends and acquaintances.

Franky flicked her lighter; not enough to get a flame going, but enough to send sparks dancing around her hand. Standing in front of the Levan house, she tried to pull her thoughts away from the girl she'd snuck away from earlier. Franky had done it. She had finally done what she had been working up to, and let Mini inside her. The experience was interesting, for lack of a better word. And honestly, she hadn't known what she had been afraid of. Sure, it had felt slightly uncomfortable at first, but she was sure she'd grow to find it enjoyable. And besides, wasn't it supposed to be better with someone you love? Surely, now that she'd gotten over the hurdle, she could give herself to Matty the way she wanted to.

It had been easy to sneak into his house before, and she was delighted by the fact that it still was. She wasn't even sure if he would be there, but he was, fast asleep in his bed. A silvery light came in through the window and fell on his bare shoulder, and Franky longed to touch him.

She took a step forward, and saw his eyes snap open in the pale light. "Franky? What are you doing here?"

Franky steeled herself. She had come here with a purpose, and wussing out wasn't part of the plan. With a deep breath and a mental reminder that she could do this, she stole forward and placed her hands against his bare chest, pushing him down and straddling his waist. "Franky, what are you-" His question was cut off by Franky roughly covering his mouth with hers.

It was different kissing Matty than it was with Mini, she had noticed that the first time. While Matty's kisses made her feel warm, and alive, and lit a fire in her chest, they were also rough, and rushed, and made her teeth hurt. Mini took her time. Mini's kisses were slow, and tender, and wet, and left Franky with a strange sense of confusion. She didn't know what to make of them.

Matty was also stronger than Mini, and Franky wound up on her back without noticing how. She did notice how careful he was hovering over her, making sure not to touch her, or invade her comfort zone. But it was okay now. Franky thought it should have been, anyway. "Franky, I don't understand. Aren't you with Mini?"

"No." They hadn't discussed it after all, but now that she was here, Franky thought that maybe she was, in a gloriously fucked up kind of way. "Not really." She grabbed the back of his head and pulled him down to her, kissing him again. She could feel him debating with himself, and she had to remember to breathe.

He pulled away. She tried not to let him, but he was stronger than her. "She loves you," he said in his usual blank, matter-of-fact tone of voice. But he was wrong. This wasn't even a possible truth like the idea of Franky and Mini together. Neither one of them had said that word, or had even come close. But she knew Matty tried not to lie if he could help it…

"I don't love her." She felt it was the only safe thing to say, and she sat up to face him. They looked at each other in silence, neither of them brave enough to move until Franky plucked up her courage and leaned forward, pressing her mouth against his chest. She could do this. She would do this. He just needed to see, and she would show him.

She could hear his discontented sigh, but he also leaned back, and Franky chose to interpret the second gesture as an invitation, trailing her mouth down towards his abdomen. But his hand was under her chin, and forcing her face away and back up, and Franky growled in frustration.

She saw the question in his eyes, and he knew he didn't have to ask it. "I can do this," Franky insisted. "I want to do this."

Matty turned his head to the side in the beginnings of a head shake, but seemed to think better of it. She couldn't handle it if he turned her down; not after everything she'd done to get here. And he knew that. He also knew this was a very bad idea, and that Franky was going to be broken either way.

She caught a glimpse of the sadness behind his eyes, but pushed it out of her mind as he kissed her, leaning forward, and easing her onto her back. He was more careful this time, finally having come to terms with just how wounded and fragile she really was, and as his fingers tentatively slid under her shirt, she didn't have to remind herself to breathe.

And Matty was lulled into a false sense of security; started to think that maybe Franky was right, and she could do this. But he knew better, and should have stuck with his first instinct. To her credit, Franky didn't recreate the events in the woods. There was no screaming as he settled himself between her legs, but a tension he had never seen in a person before. The look on her face confirmed his suspicion.

Franky looked up at the ceiling, looked up at nothing; her eyes just open, unseeing. She was aware that Matty had left her proximity, but she couldn't bring herself to move. She had spooked him. Maybe if she just laid there limply, he'd come back. But she knew that he wouldn't. Franky." His voice was soft and tentative. He wouldn't continue until Franky moved, so she sat herself up and looked straight at him. "You can't do this. And that's okay. You don't have to force it."

It wasn't exactly what she had been trying to do, but it amounted to the same thing, anyway. She suddenly felt very awkward in his room, in his bed; small and meek and absolutely not what he should be with. "You've got a good thing," he said carefully. "With Mini, I mean." She stopped herself from glaring at him only after her initial reaction. "She loves you," he said again.

She wanted to argue, wanted to tell him how wrong he was, but she didn't see any point. This simply wasn't going to happen, whether he wanted it to or not. She knew that, and it made her hate herself even more. "I'd better go," she stammered, covering her face with her hand, and scurrying quickly out of his house. She missed his look of concern, and the way he opened his mouth to offer comfort.

It was time to give up, that much Franky knew. If she still couldn't manage to sleep with Matty, then she never would. And as she climbed the stairs up to her room where she knew Mini was sleeping, she wondered if the other girl knew. She wondered if Mini knew that she had just been using her, that she didn't care for her one way or another. Sometimes, she thought she did, but she could never be sure. She had a decision to make; now that Mini had served her purpose.

Matty's assurances that Mini loved her swirled through her head as she stood in the middle of her room and watched the sleeping girl with a fondness she had never registered before, and she wondered if maybe _this_ was something she could do.

That was silly. She had already done this. Nothing had to change now that she knew she couldn't be with Matty. Mini was the only chance she had left of being a part of something outside of herself. Was she willing to give that up, regardless of her feelings? Besides, things had finally settled with everyone, and breaking Mini's heart would cause a rift she couldn't own up to.

Silently, she shed her outer layers of clothes, stripping down to her wife beater and shorts before trying to crawl into bed without waking Mini. She held her breath as the other girl stirred, but relaxed as Mini draped an arm across her waist and snuggled into her shoulder sleepily. "Love you, Franks."

Love. She loved Matty. But if Mini was the only one who could touch her…

"Love you, too, Mins."


End file.
